About mobile wound care in Shaw

Shaw is a city neighborhood beside the Missouri Botanical Garden and Tower Grove Park. Its blocks of brick houses sit under mature trees, and the park and garden are an easy walk for many residents. Being kept indoors by a wound or surgery is hard in a neighborhood built for walking, and it is one reason care that comes to the house matters so much to people here.

Housing in Shaw is mostly brick: single-family houses with front porches, two-family flats, and small apartment buildings along the busier streets. Older homes often have a few steps up to the door and bedrooms upstairs. Some residents have lived on the same block for decades, while others are newer renters. Gateway arranges partner clinician visits in all of these homes, and we ask early about stairs, entry and who will be there so the visit goes smoothly.

The main guide to mobile wound care in St. Louis explains who it helps and how visits are arranged.

Gateway arranges wound care in St. Louis across the city, the county and the Metro East, and Shaw is part of that area.

When the visit comes to the home

For a family caregiver, the hard part of a parent’s wound is often the logistics: time off work, getting someone with a sore leg into a car, a long wait at a clinic. When Gateway arranges wound care at home in Shaw, the visit comes to the house instead. You can be in the room, join by phone or ask for a call afterward, as long as the patient agrees. Tell us who helps with dressing changes and how much they can realistically do. The treating clinician uses that to build a plan the household can carry out. Our page for families caring for someone with a wound explains more.

Skilled nursing, assisted living and rehabilitation

Wound rounds bring the clinician to the residents instead of sending residents out. In skilled nursing facilities in Shaw, Gateway works with the director of nursing or the wound nurse to set a regular rounding day and a list of residents to be seen. On facility wound rounds, a partner clinician goes room to room, ideally with a facility nurse alongside, examines and measures each wound and decides what changes in the plan. New admissions and residents with a new skin concern are added to the list as they come up. Between rounds, Gateway keeps the list current, tracks open orders and makes sure questions from the floor reach the clinician.

Wounds you can call about

You do not need to know the name of a wound to ask for help. If a sore on a leg, foot, heel or tailbone is not closing, or a surgical incision has opened, that is enough reason to call. For reference, these are the kinds of wounds Gateway arranges care for in Shaw.

See every wound condition and all wound care services.

After a hospital or rehab stay

Shaw residents are usually discharged from Barnes-Jewish Hospital, SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital or SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Richmond Heights. Gateway is not affiliated with these hospitals. If you are going home with a wound, a relative can call us before or after discharge. Hospital staff can fax a referral with the discharge summary and wound orders, and we then check whether a partner clinician can visit the Shaw address.

Facilities near Shaw

These facilities are in or near Shaw. They come from public directories and are listed only to help you get your bearings.

  • Hospitals nearby: Barnes-Jewish Hospital; SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital; SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital in Richmond Heights
  • Skilled nursing and rehabilitation nearby: Beauvais Rehab and Healthcare Center (St. Louis 63110); Lansdowne Village (St. Louis 63116); Oak Park Care Center (St. Louis 63139); Bernard Care Center (St. Louis 63108)
  • Assisted living and memory care nearby: Silver Spur (St. Louis 63118); St. Elizabeth Hall (St. Louis 63108); St. Louis Hills Assisted Living and Memory Care (St. Louis 63109)

Gateway is not affiliated with any facility listed here, and a listing does not mean a partnership or referral relationship. If the patient lives in one of them, tell us its name when you call so we can contact the right nurse or front desk.

Sources: Medicare Care Compare nursing home data (CMS) and the Missouri DHSS long-term care directory.

Primary care alongside wound care

Closing a wound is one goal. Keeping the next one from opening is another, and that work belongs largely to primary care. Regular skin and foot checks, attention to swelling and blood sugar, and a plan for staying mobile all lower the chance that a healed wound comes back. For patients in Shaw, Gateway can arrange for primary care follow-up to continue after wound visits end, so a clinician is still watching the things that led to the wound.

Gateway also arranges primary care at home across St. Louis.

Getting care in Shaw

Calling 314-325-0126 about someone in Shaw goes faster with a few details at hand. Have the street address, the floor or unit, the patient’s name and a phone number that will be answered. Tell us about porch steps, a locked front door or a back entrance. Gateway also arranges care in neighboring Tower Grove, The Hill, Dogtown and the Central West End, so a relative a few blocks away can be included in the same conversation.

Visits are confirmed by location and care setting, so call 314-325-0126 with your ZIP code to ask about your street.

After you call 314-325-0126, three things happen before anyone visits.

  1. Gateway confirms whether a partner clinician covers the address in Shaw and the type of setting.
  2. We ask about insurance and pass coverage questions to the treating provider, since participation and benefits vary by plan.
  3. With your permission, we request recent records, such as hospital notes, wound orders and a medication list.

Then we call you to set the visit and explain how to prepare for the first visit. If something holds things up, such as a missing record or a plan requirement, we tell you what it is.

  • County: City of St. Louis, Missouri (an independent city)
  • ZIP codes: 63110
  • Care settings: Private homes, skilled nursing, assisted living, memory care and rehabilitation

Nearby: Tower Grove, The Hill, Central West End, South St. Louis, Dogtown

Insurance and coverage

People with Original Medicare can ask Gateway what to expect before a wound care visit at home or in a facility. Have your red, white and blue card and any supplement (Medigap) card with you on the call. Good questions to ask about Medicare include:

  • Does the treating provider participate with Medicare?
  • What part of the cost might be my responsibility?
  • Are dressings and supplies handled separately from the visit?

The answers depend on the provider and the care ordered, so they are confirmed case by case.

Common questions

I live near Tower Grove Park in Shaw. Do home visits work for older brick houses?

Yes. Older houses near the park often have porch steps, narrow halls and bedrooms upstairs. Tell us where the patient spends most of the day and whether the first floor is usable. That helps the treating clinician plan where to see the patient. Gateway coordinates any supplies the clinician orders so they reach the home.

Is Gateway connected to Barnes-Jewish Hospital, which many Shaw patients use?

No. Gateway is independent and is not affiliated with Barnes-Jewish Hospital or any other hospital. Many people in Shaw are discharged from there, and its staff can refer a patient to us just as they would any outside service. The treating clinician who visits makes the clinical decisions, and Gateway coordinates records and follow-up.

My mother rents a flat in Shaw and her landlord has the only key to the building. What should we do?

Tell us when you call 314-325-0126. A visit needs someone to let the clinician in, so we will ask about a relative, caregiver or building contact who can be there at the visit time. Sorting this out before the first visit prevents a missed trip for everyone involved.

Can primary care visits and wound care visits both be arranged in Shaw?

Yes, you can ask about both. Gateway arranges wound care and primary care at home with partner clinicians. A patient with a wound often has diabetes, circulation problems or other conditions that the regular care team also follows. Tell us about the main concern and we will explain what can be arranged at the Shaw address.

Can I call Gateway about a parent who lives in Shaw?

Yes. Adult children, spouses, friends and paid caregivers are welcome to call, including relatives who live in another city or state. Tell us the patient’s name, their address in Shaw and your relationship. We will want to confirm that the patient, or their legal decision-maker, agrees to the request and to our sharing updates with you. After that, you can be the main contact for scheduling if the patient wants that.

Do I need a doctor’s referral to get wound care in Shaw?

No referral is needed to call Gateway. Patients, relatives and caregivers in Shaw can contact us directly, and so can doctors’ offices, hospitals and facilities. Your health plan is a separate matter. Some plans require a referral or prior authorization before they pay for certain visits or supplies. We ask about your plan early and check those requirements with the treating provider, so you hear about them beforehand.

General information to help you talk with your own clinician. It is not medical advice, and the treating clinician makes every clinical decision. For a medical emergency, call 911.